Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for image processing, and more particularly, to systems and methods for causing a system response in a vehicle based on traffic light detection from images.
Background Information
As technology continues to advance, more and more vehicles are equipped with sensors and driving assistance systems configured to assist the driver in safe driving. Such driving assistance systems may use cameras to capture images of the road environment surrounding the vehicle. The driving assistance systems analyze the images to identify pedestrians, road signs, traffic lights, etc., and provide warnings to the drivers. As another example, fully autonomous vehicles are being developed that can automatically navigate on the roads without driver input. Autonomous vehicles may take into account a variety of factors and make appropriate decisions based on those factors to safely and accurately reach an intended destination. For example, an autonomous vehicle may need to process and interpret visual information (e.g., images captured by a camera) and may also use information obtained from other sources (e.g., from a GPS device, a speed sensor, an accelerometer, a suspension sensor, etc.).
When a conventional or an autonomous vehicle approaches a traffic intersection, the driver or the vehicle itself may need to make a decision as to whether the vehicle should stop or whether the vehicle should proceed to safely past the traffic intersection. Sometimes drivers do not pay close attention to the status of traffic lights ahead of the vehicle. In the case of autonomous vehicle, it is still a challenging task for the autonomous vehicle to accurately determine whether it would be safe to pass an intersection based on information collected from various sensors. Therefore, it is desirable and a modern trend to equip vehicles (whether conventional or autonomous) with a system that can detect the status of the traffic light and make an appropriate and timely decision on what actions the vehicles or drivers should take in order to avoid collision at the intersection.